SlotBack ~ Ryan Switzer ~ North Carolina Tar Heels ~ 5085/180

Regarding SlotBacks

Most Fans don't know that WideOuts can generally be broken down into 3 Categories, based on traditional Roles, and that those Roles naturally enough call for 3 distinctive Skill Sets, based on the classic X, Y, and Z Positions:

Split Ends are usually the bigger, taller WideOuts who line up in the X Position, on the Line of Scrimmage.SlotBacks are usually the quicker, smaller WideOuts who line up at the Y Position, off the Line.FlankerBacks are usually the faster WideOuts who line up at the Z Position, off the Line.

The Split End prototype would be about 6030/225 or so.The Flanker prototype would be about 6000/200 or so.The SlotBack prototype would be about 5010/195 or so.

And I'm adding a 4th: The Slot End.

The term may make some Readers cringe, for the same reason that the term "Jumbo Shrimp" might.

And it's a term, as far as I know, entirely of my own Invention.

But it is of course the perfect Tactical term for a WideOut lined up in the Slot yet on the Line of Scrimmage.

And it strikes me as an excellent term to describe a WideOut who's not necessarily tall ~ like a Split End ~ not necessarily fast ~ like a FlankerBack ~ and not necessarily spry ~ like a SlotBack ~ and is often a bit Beefy. Not necessarily beefy enough to take on a Flex End's Blocking Responsibilites, but beefy enough for a Split End's.

I'm talking about WideOuts who're well suited to catch Balls in Traffic, and Move The Chains.

However a given Coach chooses to deploy the Soldiers at his disposal is of course entirely up to him, and most WideOuts will see Snaps at multiple Positions and in multiple Alignments, but I believe that it is valuable to categorize WideOuts in terms of classic Skill Sets, to better define the differences in the kind of Impact they might wield at the next level.

This is how I break things down when I'm evaluating all WideOuts:

Separation: Getting Open. This encompasses Combat Skills & Fluidity to beat Press, Acceleration out'f the Blocks, Fluidity and Ricochet in navigating Traffic, Route Running Precision, the capacity to deceive Defenders, and Field Vision for Timing Seems and Open Zones. All other Aspects of a WideOut's Job Description are dwarfed by this one.

Yards After Catch are well and fine, but it seems to me that 90% of the Value of a Flex End and any WideOut is getting open and catching the Ball. Anyone who's read my Work extensively knows that I consider Blocking to be the Heart & Soul of FootBall, but that is a philosophical position, and I recognize that with most Philosophies, where it comes to Wide Receivers and Flex Ends...it's just Gravy. And so is Yards After Catch: Moving The Chains is What Wins.

Chunk Yardage: An highly overrated Aspect of the Game, I believe, so much so that in fact I didn't even include it in 2016. It is not a negligible Aspect of the Game, so I'm bringing it back, but getting open, catching the Ball, and Moving the Chains are far more crucial to a Team's Success, I believe, than making Splash Plays and getting on ESPN HighLights Reels. Power, Fluidity, Ricochet, Speed, Combat Skills, and Processing Speed/Field Vision all play into Chunk Yardage.

Blocking: It was a Mistake to leave this Aspect ~ my very favorite Aspect of FootBall ~ out'f 2016's Flex End Reports, and I'm very happy to correct that Mistake, evermore. Blocking of course comes down to Power, Agility, Frame, Combat Skills, Processing Speed, and Motor, and further breaks down into In Line Blocking and Open Field Blocking.

Separation:Outstanding. His Speed is only average, but his Acceleration, Fluidity, and Ricochet are all excellent, and his Route Running and Field Vision are extraordinary. He'd have big Problems against Press Coverage, of course.

Chunk Yardage: Excellent. He lacks BreakAway Speed and Power, but is Quick, Smooth, and Smart.

Blocking: Shaky, of course, lacking Power and Length, but tough enough.

Ryan Switzer ~ Prospectus

Ryan Switzer obviously doesn't project as a good Match Up against Press Coverage, so he'd have to play either SlotBack or Flanker, and even then he's lighter than Wes Welker or Julian Edelman, so I'd expect some Problems getting a clean Release in those situations, but he's remarkably Spry and remarkably Wise, and I expect that the combination will consistently produce Separation at the next level. And he's terrific at the Catch Point, so this is a guy who I believe will consistently and reliably Move The Chains for you...and who I believe will often do a Hell'f a lot more.

Steve Smith is the only WideOut who I can think of, though, at about Switzer's Size who's forged a long and successful Career, but The Game has changed, especially since 2005, and Ty Hilton led the League in Yards, last Year.

Pay the Man!!

Grateful Thanks, as always, for the crucial Work done by the folks at Draft BreakDown!!

Yank Rank: Beast ~ Deeper Sleeper!!

Market Value

#133

Yankee Grade

1st Round!!

Please do Note: This and all Evaluations issued by this Site are produced by a ludicrously unqualified Amateur, privy to not even the tiniest fraction of Coach's Tape, Scouting Expertise, Face to Face Interviewing, Experience, or Inside Information enjoyed by the Professionals. As such, anything put forth is certainly misinformed, euphonious, derivative Tripe, and should be rejected out'f hand and indeed shunned by all men and women of Good Will!! I'm trying to discern Power, Agility, Combat Skills, and far more abstract, esoteric Concepts such as Processing Speed and Motor, and I'm trying to do so based almost entirely on a fascinating fusion of Tape, Combine Numbers, and Pro Days, while trying to attenuate my findings based on Allowances for Competition Level, Scheme, Concept, Context, and, above all: Trajectory!!

None of this is even remotely a Complaint, mind you, but rather a Warning!! Caveat Emptor!!